Jakob de Jonge was born in 1874 into a Jewish family. He had a keen interest in technology and opened a workshop in his hometown of Weener for bicycles, sewing machines, and agricultural machinery. When World War I broke out in 1914, Jakob de Jonge voluntarily enlisted in the German army. He saw it as his duty to serve his country and was awarded a medal of honor for his service.

A few years after returning from the front, Jakob de Jonge expanded his business further. He became a dealer for cars and motorcycles and built an extensive network. Customers from across the region came to his business. For a long time, thanks in part to his non-Jewish customers, he was spared from the rising antisemitism. That changed in 1933 when the Nazi Party came to power. From that moment on, the De Jonge family also faced threats and harassment. As a Jewish entrepreneur, Jakob de Jonge found it increasingly difficult to operate in the lead-up to World War II.

On July 28, 1933, Jakob de Jonge was arrested on charges of harmful business practices against the German people. He was transferred to the Börgermoor penal camp, where he was severely mistreated in Barrack 11. In June 1934, he was released. During the Kristallnacht in 1938, he was arrested again and briefly held in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Five days after his arrest, De Jonge was released once more.

After this second arrest, Jakob de Jonge decided to leave Germany with his family. They settled in Leeuwarden. When his son Heini received a summons on August 20, 1942, to report for deportation to Westerbork camp, the family went into hiding in Friesland. First, they hid in Heerenveen and later in IJlst. Ruth, Jakob de Jonge's daughter, did not go into hiding with the rest of the family. Under the alias Annie Klarendijk, she moved in with the Van den Helm family in Leeuwarden using false identity papers. Ruth spoke German well, was fearless, and did not have a distinctly Jewish appearance. This made Krijn van der Helm involve her in his resistance work for the Knokploeg (KP).

The entire family survived World War II. Jakob de Jonge never returned to Germany. In a letter from September 1946, he wrote to a friend: "I suffer greatly from the consequences of three years in hiding and am a guinea pig for my doctor." His doctor reportedly "couldn't put him back together." He continued in the letter: "I am too old, and my internal organs have suffered greatly." A little over six months later, in June 1947, Jakob de Jonge passed away at the age of 73.